this morning on "early today," health care hiccup. the white house gets swamped with criticism over its plan to overhaul health care. plus, lives are lost and homes and roads get whipped away by flooding and mud slides across asia. in a jam. a baby elephant manages to wedge itself into a manhole in thailand. captions paid for by nbc-universal television this is "early today" for august 11 kfth 2009. hello and good morning, i'm

christina brown. today we begin with emergency attention. faced with growing criticism over its plan to reform health care, the white house is launching a new effort to counter attack. this comes as president obama launches a series of town hall meetings on the issue, beginning with one today in portsmith, new hampshire. steve handlesman reports. >> reporter: even on his trip to mexico, president obama focused on health care. but back in washington, the white house went on the web to debunk health care attacks from the right. >> the notion that the government will interfere with what you have, it really is laughable. >> greg: nothing funny to democratic lawmakers. their meetings are still being disrupted. >> this is not health emplrefor. this is control, control over our lives. >> i'm here to tell the government they are overstepping

their bounds. we don't want them involved in our health care decisions. >> reporter: some even claim euthenasia is involved in the plan. the new website explains that patients would get counseling for end of life decisions like organ donation. >> there is nothing mandatory about this. >> reporter: the aarp fears reform is in jeopardy. >> i fear that the public may be misled, particularly seniors. i also fear this may get in the way of doing something urgently needed. >> reporter: president obama claim he's not worried. >> more sensible and reasonable arguments will emerge. we'll get this passed. >> reporter: will we get a reasoned debate? i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >> an update on the ongoing search for victims of saturday's tragic mid-air collision in new

york city that killed nine people. on monday, divers continued to pull debris from the murky waters of the hudson river. despite poor visibility and treacherous currents, authorities were able to locate a man's body in the plane's wreckage, buried 60 feet below the surface. they were not able to dislodge it from the plane. so far, bodies have been recovered for seven of the nine passengers of the small plane and sight-seeing helicopter, which collided in the narrow air space. there are reports out of taiwan this morning that 260 victims from this weekend's typhoon have been rescued from villages buried by mud slides. hundreds still remain unaccounted for in the worst flooding in a half century. as much as 80 inches of rain swamped the area, washing out roads and bridges and severing contact between remote villages and cities. the devastation carried into eastern china, where a massive landslide buried an unknown number of victims.

entire apartment buildings were reduced to rubble. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. 24 people in california were strandeded when a roller coaster broke down. there were no injuries. it took four and a half hours to rescue everyone. dangling between three to seven stories in the air, amazing. the riders were removed one at a time by crews in cherry-pickers. officials say a broken chain caused the coaster to stop. a 13-vehicle accident in ohio killed two people and sent ten others it a hospital. multiple cars collided at an intersection. two of the vehicles involved did not stop moving and triggered another pile-up five blocks away. investigators believe that medical conditions may have prevented those two drivers from stopping. surveillance cameras at a store in georgia captured a frightening robbery on take.

police are looking for the suspect seen wearing a stocking mask and pointing a gun at the two employees. the bandit is still at large. a high-speed police chase in philadelphia took an unexpected turn when the trooper realized that the car was actually racing to a hospital. a passenger was in labor and officers had to deliver the baby on the side of the road. it turned out to be a healthy baby girl. guess what? her parents were spared the speeding ticket. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc morning bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. i suppose if there's ever a reason to get out of the speeding ticket, it would be for that reason, right? >> can you imagine the conversation in the front seat? honey, the cops are pulling me over. she's like, go, go! let's talk a little bit about your forecast today. good morning to everyone. yesterday was a hot day up and down the eastern seaboard. didn't get to 90 in boston.

new york city had its first official 90-degree day of the summer. 96 in washington, d.c. that was one of the hotter spots. that raleigh area back up to d.c., you hit 99 yesterday. norfolk, 94. charlotte, 95. you get the picture here. one of the hot spots was tallahassee at 97. this morning it is still warm. the air mass hasn't changed. it's still rather humid out there too. we had showers and storms that popped up from the ohio valley through western new york and pennsylvania. a few strong storms out there near westchester county and over long island last night. that hot weather will remain with us through the day today. the showers and storms will cool us off in most areas this afternoon. the forecast, another 90-degree day from new york, philadelphia, and boston. there will be more clouds this afternoon. a chance of showers and storms, including there in boston. should be a beautiful day in chicago, 82 and sun pef that's the a look at your national forecast. here's a look at the weather

outside your window. chance of showers and storms today, many hours, including concord, new hampshire. a chance of showers around d.c., baltimore, new york city. carry that umbrella today in case you get caught in one of the heavy downpours late this afternoon. this is the last big day of heat for the eastern seaboard. >> retailers are left reeling. mcdonald's customers are still loving it. an ice cream treat with a kick. your early morning business headlines straight ahead. plus, michael jackson's autopsy results are in. why does the mystery remain in the pop star's death? amazing return to the diamond just five months after open heart surgery. we'll tell you why tiger woods is being fined by the pga. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm christina brown. here are some of the top headlines. a myanmar court has found a woman guilty of violating her house arrest after an uninvited american man spent two nights in her home in may. she's been sentenced to 18 months of house arrest while the american has been given a seven-year prison term. alaska's legislature voted to override sarah palin's veto of $28 million in federal stimulus. palin rejected the money for alaska, the state with the highest energy cost, saying, quote, strings could bind alaska to federal mandates. secretary of state hillary clinton apparently lost her cool yesterday while in kocongo when she thought a student asked her what her husband thought about a

financial matter. secretary clinton snapped, my husband is not secretary of state, i am. it turned out to be a translation error and the question was actually about president obama. afterwards, clinton and the student shook hands and made light of it. in thailand, a baby elfant got caught in a tight spot after falling in a manhole. after several hours, the elephant was freed unharmed. the dow opens at 9337 after falling 32 points on monday. the nasdaq was down three. looking at overseas trading, the nikkei rose 61 points while in ko hong kong, the hang seng jumped 31 points. global markets are cautious on the strength of a recovery.

japan kept his key interest rate unchanged today. unemployment and weak spending fueled its cautious attitude. on wall street, can the retail sector led monday's losses. shares of macy's fell 5% ahead of its earnings report due out tomorrow. best buy gave up more than 5% of its value as investors await this week's consumer spending reports. mcdonald's said budget conscious customers are eating and drink up the deals. the firefighter food chain credits its new line of coffee drinks with a global surge in same-store sales which soared 7.2% across the pond. 2.6 here at home. gm customers in california will be able to do haggling online. they have partnered with ebay in an effort to boost west coast sales. zillow.com is reporting

despite a drop in home values topping 12%, the rate of decline was down for the first time in two years. with the number of homeowners who owe more than their home is worth still on the rise, questions remain. a federal judge postponed approving a $33 million settlement between bank of america and the securities and change commission. the case stems from charges that boa misled investors about plans to pay merrill lynch bonuses. the court is requesting additional details. if you are tired of plain old vanilla, head to london for an ice cream cocktail that will cool you off. amen amenno acids make up this drink. the rockies roll over the cubs. and a terrifying wreck from nascar as one car goes spinning

in circles and then gets slammed by another. your early morning sports headlines straight ahead. that accident was a lot worse than any weather we'll see today. actually, very typical summer. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this

is "early today." in sports, the colorado rockies are in celebration mode after their shortstop achieved one of the rarest feats in baseball. here's bill suard. >> a very good morning to you. last season the rockies were nowhere near the playoffs. in denver, big day for troy tulle wits see. opens with a two-run homer. in the seventh, needs a triple for the cycle. chugging for third the whole way. doesn't look like he's going to make it but the cubs boston the throw. tulle wi to the minors, aaron boon made an incredible comeback in corpus christi. he was back on the diamond less an five months after open heart surgery. goes 0 for 2. amazing return nonetheless. he hopes to join the astros next

month. golf, tiger woods will be fined for criticizing an official after his win sunday. tiger and paddy harrington, told to speed up play on the 16th. harrington hit into the water, blowing his chance. tiger told harrington, i'm sorry the official got in the waive a great battle. nascar at watkins glen new york. montoya runs into one of ragan's crew members. fortunately, not seriously injured. frightening collision on lap 62. kasey kahne clips sam hornish jr. somehow everyone was okay. but the race was over for gordon and jeff burton. tony stewart takes the checkered flag, his first win as team owner at watkins glen. that's your look at sports early today. >> like father, like son. tom cruise's kid follows in his

dad's path. your early morning sbamt headlines straight ahead. plus, looking for a luxurious stay at a ridiculously cheap price. it's out there. but there's a catch. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. good tuesday morning. here's your forecast as you step out the door heading to work or anywhere else. we will see showers and storms. they'll be around today. not very wide coverage.

it could rain anywhere from boston all the way down here to charlotte at some point during the day. the southeast, another warm day around savannah, charleston and tallahassee. week, we cool off in new england. the heat and humidity will spark thunderstorms in the southeast. if you're watching us on nbc 33 in ft. wayne, indiana, you can experience dorothy's walk through the land of oz. click your heels together a couple of times. >> i wish i could. here's an early look at headlines in entertainment. the l.a. coroner's office now knows what caused the death of michael jackson, even if the public does not. officials are withholding autopsy results so police can continue the investigation into doctors who may have prescribed drugs to the late singer. meanwhile, a los angeles judge approved a major movie

deal between jackson's estate, concert promoter aeg live and colombia pictures. the movie will include footage of jackson's rehearsals for his london tour. jessica simpson got another jolt to the system. it had nothing to do with tony romo. the singer was greeted in japan with a 7.2 earthquake. tori spelling and her husband are responding to criticism from tori's mom, candy, that the couple uses their children as reality show props to generate conflict. dean said dryly, everyone is entitled to their opinion. finally, tom cruise's son is following in dad's famous footsteps with plans to embark on his own acting career. the 14-year-old has a role in the upcoming film "red dawn." you might remember it's a remake of a 1984 action flick. my goodness, has it been that long? >> it has. can you believe his son is 14? >> i know.

i bet we will be seeing a lot of him in the years to come. >> good-looking young man. >> this comes to us from knsd in san diego where in rancho bernardo, a hotel lets you drop in to drop the room. a room goes for $219. but you can lower that price by bringing your own sheets. if you're willing to foregoat a bed and electricity, you'll pay $19. it comes with a tent, making for the perfect upscale camp site. i suppose the other thing you could do is go to another hotel that's cheaper. >> i don't get it. >> i don't know. >> is this a promotion or -- >> any way to get someone in their hotel, right? 19 bucks, who needs ac. i'm christina brown. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> good morning. bond we hawe had a high of 94 ds yesterday morning. 98 degrees in ocean city. there was a heat index of 105. it should be cooler today. a few showers and storms that percolated a long a friend. that front is going to come through here later this afternoon. nothing happening as far as precipitation right now.

77 degrees downtown. the airmass is still above us. 70 degrees at be the view of marshall. today's forecast, partly cloudy -- 70 degrees at vw why marshall. -- p.w. i marshabwi marshall. today's forecast is partly cloudy. 70 degrees. >> it is 4:57. here is a look ahead at cinema "11 news today." >> tulsa and university was the place to be less night. -- towson university was the place to be last night. >> and obama will talk about health care. that story is coming up. >> we are checking out an early morning problem in the city.

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